In the drilling and completion industry, it is known that tubular members are generally run into a borehole using pin and box thread connections and that the connections are made up by rotating one tubular member relative to the adjoining one. The vernacular “turn right” generally comes from this fact and is related to the fact that tightening and therefore secure connection is assured by turning in a clockwise direction to tighten the pin and box threads. This method of configuring and operating strings running in the hole has been ubiquitously used and well tested for a great many years. The method works quite well until monitoring equipment that requires signal-bearing connections is required.
When signal-bearing connections are required, special consideration of the connection must be given. In some cases the threads must be “timed” while in other cases, a loose connection will be made on the outside of the tubular string after the threaded connections are made up. The timed threads are expensive to manufacture and potentially troublesome with respect to other engineering considerations and loose connections made up outside of the tubular string are at greater risk for damage in a borehole environment. In addition, the two noted prior art methods for effecting connections are also time consuming on the rig floor and hence are not cost efficient.
Since the downhole drilling and completion industry is likely to increase the use of signal bearing connections in the downhole environment rather than decrease them, the issues presented for prior art methods and apparatus for making such connections are amplified rather than diminished. Accordingly, the art would well receive string and signal-bearing connection alternatives that increase efficiency and protection.